Archive for August 2011
Book Review: Resident Aliens
Posted by: revjmk on: August 25, 2011
Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony: A provocative Christian assessment of culture and ministry for people who know that something is wrong, by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, Abingdon Press, 1989, 175 pp. After borrowing its title for the opening sermon in my latest sermon series (entitled “Living in Tents”), I finally sat [...]
Can Christians Believe in Ghosts?
Posted by: revjmk on: August 23, 2011
This is one of the most frequent theological questions I get asked. If you believe in the Holy Spirit, can you also believe in spirits? If you believe in resurrection, in heaven, in hell—can you also believe in ghosts? I usually field these questions from those who are dying and those who have recently lost [...]
Book Review: Fall on Your Knees
Posted by: revjmk on: August 23, 2011
Fall on Your Knees, by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Scribner Paperback Fiction (Simon & Schuster), 1996, 508 pp. This is by far the best novel I have read in a long time. The review on the front cover describes it as a “big, bold, epic shocker of a novel,” and that is a great description. It is [...]
Book Review: Charming Billy
Posted by: revjmk on: August 17, 2011
Charming Billy, by Alice McDermott, Delta Trade Paperbacks, 1998, 243 pp. Charming Billy was not the light, quick vacation read I was looking for when I checked it out from the library. Instead, it was an intense, pain-stakingly constructed look inside the life of an alcoholic, told from the perspective of his closest friends. It [...]
Book Review: Heaven is For Real
Posted by: revjmk on: August 9, 2011
Heaven is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, Thomas Nelson, 2010, 163 pp. One of the folks from my church gave me this to read. She was moved and captivated by the little boy’s story, and by the testimony he gave. [...]
Becoming My Grandmother
Posted by: revjmk on: August 8, 2011
- In: Random | Sound Off
- 3 Comments
A few weeks ago, I strung a clothesline in my backyard. Yesterday, I washed six loads of laundry and hung each one outside in the summer sun to dry on my new clothesline and a couple of drying racks that usually stay in the basement. I did not once turn on the dryer. Last summer, [...]
About Me
I am a full-time pastor in the United Church of Christ, mother of a preschooler (B.), married to an aspiring academic and curmudgeon (J.). I live by faith, intuition and intellect. I follow politics, football and the Boston Red Sox. I like to talk about progressive issues, theological concerns, church life, the impact of technology and media, pop culture and books.
- Aleada SIragusa: I am a member of United Church of Christ also. One of our pastors, Rev Victoria Long is also a woman. I am on the net searching for photographs I may
- Samantha R.: Hello, I work with a publication called The Traveler's Friend. We are a coupon book for hotels. I was wondering if I could get your permission to use
- Marilyn Holt: Thank you for your inspiring comments on the disaster in your neighborhood and the uplifting section from your sermon. This entry in your blog is maki
